Local Competitions

New to the game? Get your feet wet by competing in your PPA affiliated local guilds’ or associations’ competitions. It will help ease your nerves and feel things out. You also score a round of critiquing, increasing your chances for success at the next level. Check theLoop for more advice on entering local competitions.

State Competitions

Competition critiques at this level are often held live, providing insight into improving your work. It’s the perfect place to start if you don’t have access to a local guild or association. Check theLoop for more advice on entering state competitions.

District Competitions

This is your last chance to gather critiques and advice before the International Photographic Competition (IPC). (You’ll want those critiques and advice. Even if getting your work critiqued scares you, the new perspectives are oh so worth it.)

As a PPA member, you’re assigned a district based on where you live (Southwest, Northcentral, Western, Northeast, Southeast and Asia Pacific). Wow them here and you could earn a Seal of Approval. That’s a big deal.

PPA's International Photographic Competition (IPC*)

And now things are rollin’—you’ve got game, playa! You’re competing with PPA members from across the globe now and this ain’t a competition playground: this level of competition (the IPC) actually involves two judgings.

The first one determines if your images are merit-worthy (yeah, that’s industry-speak to say you made the first cut). If they are, you earn a second judging, which could possibly earn you an additional merit and a spot in the Loan Collection (our way of saying that your work is the “best of the best”). Images that earn a Seal of Approval at the district level are also considered for the Loan Collection, and are published in the annual Loan Collection book AND exhibited at Imaging USA.